SEDONA REDUX

May – JuLY, 2020

There are so many incredible places to experience in Arizona, it’s difficult to say that one place is our favorite.  Not that anyone needs to single out one particular place, but here in North Central Arizona we are drawn repeatedly to the beauty that is uniquely Sedona.  With great anticipation, we looked forward to the many opportunities to hike the trails and explore the incredible red rocks that are the geography of this remarkable place. Some jaded individuals might say “well, if you’ve seen one red rock, you’ve seen them all.”  We challenge those who express this somewhat pejorative view to visit Sedona, and if still not convinced perhaps they ought to try Sedona at sunrise or sunset.  The expansive array and diversity of colors, patterns, shadows and shapes are astounding.  The ever-changing red sandstone dazzles the eye with every imaginable shade of color so famously captured in paintings by famous southwest artists like Georgia O’Keefe.  When Ms. Okeefe’s paintings were first shown in museums, people who had never been west of the Mississippi were startled by the purples, blues, reds and oranges that predominated her landscapes.  The uninitiated refused to believe that these colors really exist in nature, and said she had a fanciful imagination because no place really looks like that.  But it does.

We have hiked many trails in Sedona, and our favorite is the popular West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon – several miles north of town. We had tried to hike this trail during March, 2019; however, the spring snow melt run-off had the water in the Creek too high and running too fast to make even the initial crossing doable.  

A handful of parking places this visit meant fewer hikers to share the trail with, and it allowed us to have a leisurely afternoon zigzagging back and forth across Oak Creek – there are 13 crossings in total. We explored this incredible canyon with its sheer cliffs, remarkable overhangs and dense forest.  It’s a place for the senses:  to breathe deeply and enjoy the earthy smells of evergreens and all the wildflowers; the crunch underfoot of pine needles as you travel, and the voices of children and families playing in the creek; the warmth of the sun and the bluest of skies.  We were surprised to find Columbine flowers that were three feet tall.  They didn’t look like others we had seen in Colorado and New Mexico.  We heard the songs of bluejays.  We hiked for nearly two hours and decided to get back to our car before dusk.  We vowed to return to explore another trail in Oak Creek Canyon another day. 

Rated as one of the best in and around Sedona, Devils Bridge Trail is a “moderate” 4.6 mile out and back hike with an elevation change of 650 feet. There are 2 things that are not mentioned when googling the trail: 1 – the trailhead for Devils Bridge is 1.5 miles from the parking lot, and the trail to the summit is 0.8 miles. That first 1.5 miles is an easy hike with mostly sand underfoot, but there is exposure to the strong rays of the sun; i.e., there is no shade. 2 – while the trail itself winds its way up in a mostly easy ascent, the last 200 yards or so are severely steep scrambles up slickrock; the first 100 yards brought us to a mesa overlooking the red rocks to the north and west, and the next 100-yard climb reaches the summit.

Our descent was much more difficult than the ascent – simply, the sun’s rays and heat took it out of us. Imagine too that slickrock is not very forgiving, and, Brian’s leg was not quite ready to bend as needed to make his way down without jeopardy. But something curious happened in this age of the corona virus – men and women of various ethnic and racial backgrounds extended a helping hand to the old man and the descent became doable.

By the time we reached the trailhead exhaustion had started to settle in and we had another 1.5 miles with 100% exposure ahead of us before returning to our Jeep. 2 young men we had met on the trail had driven to the trailhead in a high clearance 4-wheel drive pickup, and were heading out just after we started on our arduous journey. We asked for and were given a ride back to the parking lot, learning that one of the young men had graduated from NAU a year ago and was waiting to take the fireman’s qualifying test in a few months and that the other had just graduated himself and was uncertain what his future held.

We are most grateful to those that gave us help and encouragement. What’s that phrase? We’ll get through this thing together – never more cogent than our hike to Devils Bridge.

There’s a choice of 2 hikes Brian says to Barbara: “one that’s shorter but much more challenging, and one that’s longer but more beautiful.” Which would you prefer he asks? Without needing more than a second or 2 to respond she says: “let’s put ourselves to the test today and give Cathedral Rock a go.”

Cathedral Rock Trail is a 2 mile out and back hike that is relatively easy for the first 3/4 mile to the base of Cathedral Rock, and it ends with a 450-foot elevation climb up and over slick rock for the last quarter mile.

We got to a point along the trail and realized that the last ascent up slick rock was more challenging than anticipated. Brian choose to stay behind, but Barbara saw Cathedral Rock as something to be conquered and made her way to the top!

The Chapel of the Holy Cross sits high atop the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. A local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude was so inspired after seeing the Empire State Building that she personally designed the Chapel and commissioned its construction. Brian remarked that he’d love to ask her about her inspiration. The Chapel was completed in 1956, and is a beautiful landmark befitting this glorious region.

Remember Barbara choosing a shorter more challenging hike on the Cathedral Rock trail over a longer but more beautiful trail? Brian couldn’t leave out that longer hike…the Fay Canyon trail, a  2.6 mile out and back pretty much level trail that, All Trails claimed, featured a waterfall, an arch, and a summit climb/scramble at the end of the trail. This should have been a nice easy stroll, but the temperature was well into the 90’s, and even with tree cover and shade it became a tougher hike than expected. Don’t get us wrong it was not nearly as exhausting as Devils Bridge Trail.

We couldn’t find the tributary trails for either the arch nor the waterfall, and asked for help from hikers along the way. The cut off for the arch was near the beginning of the hike everyone said, but it wasn’t marked and after a bit of a search we gave up. Curiously no one could confirm that there was ever a waterfall along this trail…oh well, a peasant enough hike on a hot day.

Arriving at the trailhead for the Broken Arrow Trail we found out that there are actually two trails called Broken Arrow that run more or less parallel to each other: a narrow path for hikers and mountain bikers and a wide unimproved “road” for off-road and 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles. While we were hiking to the end of “our” Broken Arrow Trail we saw several of the local Jeep Tours giving their passengers a most interesting ride. Oh yeah – Broken Arrow Trail ends at Chicken Point.

The Broken Arrow Trail is a moderate 3.4 mile hike through shaded pine forest, past a sink hole known for its bat colony during the late spring/summer/early fall months, and features easy scrambles over slick rock, and some of the best views in Sedona.

We might have forgotten to mention that Barbara’s sisters, Joy and Meg, came for a visit and showing off the beauty of Sedona seemed to be the right thing to do…or maybe not!

Sedona is a hiker’s paradise, and we have been fortunate to be able to explore some of the more “shouldn’t be missed” trails. Many consider Sedona a town for vacationers and tourists, but that whole scene is not central to enjoying the outdoor beauty ever associated with the area. If visiting, please come into the area by taking exit 298 off of Interstate 17 and heading North on Red Rock Scenic Byway – AZ Route 179 towards Sedona. The trip will take your breath away – it’s even better at sunrise or sunset.

Barbara and Brian